Brittani

I have loved all the Ender and Shadow series book so far. I'm reading (listening) to them in chronological order and I have thoroughly enjoying them. When I came up to this story, I was very excited to see what happened to Bean and his three children after they entered the spaceship. I think that this story allowed us to see exactly that. We got to meet his children, all grown up and brilliant and immature. The performance by all the readers is amazing and had me engulfed in the story.

As the story progressed, I loved every minute of it: the relationship between Bean and his children, the relationships between each of the children, the power struggle between the two boys, and the exploration of the ship. When the end neared, I could not sense it, which I am usually able to do. Then it ended and I was left hanging, waiting for the second half of the book to begin.

As Card explained in the author's note, this was an experiment of a half-novel to see if there was a market for such a length. Honestly, I think that this was not long enough to stand on its own as a book, especially when one compares it to the lengths of his other Ender and Shadow novels. I would declare this experiment a failure. It was too short. This could have worked if this was the first book in a series or a stand-alone book. However, to introduce a half-novel in the middle of a series of full length novels was not the smartest of ideas.

I think that this is a great beginning to a series. It sets up the plots that will be explored more within the next two books. However, at times, it seemed strange to have three different plots going on at the same time without them connecting until the very end. Thankfully, it was not hard to keep up with what is going on the various plots since they did not seem to jump around often.

The performers were great and really made the book come alive. I especially loved Caitlin's voice because she sounded like exactly how I would imagine an intelligent American teenager would sound.

Overall, the book was great, but certainly could not stand on its own. It's a wonderful beginning to a series and I can't wait to read Watch and Wonder.

This is my first book of Robert J. Sawyer and while the publisher's summary and the first couple of chapters were really caught my attention, I felt that as the book went on, I kept waiting for something more to happen and that never seemed to be the case. The end was extremely disappointing and left me with a "Eh..." sort of feeling. I don't feel that I wasted my time in listening to the book for it had some good parts throughout the book. However, I feel that this was a book more on philosophy than the characters and their story. I also did not enjoy the switching back and forth between the earth Jake and the moon Jake without much of a notice. It was sudden and took me a minute to understand that we had switched.

The narrator was decent, though he seemed robotic at times when reading the narration. Maybe that was to add to the feel of the book, but I did not like it and it distracted me from what was going on in the book.

Overall, it was an okay book, and the narration was okay. It would only recommend it if you really like philosophy more so than a story.

I remember reading the abridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo when I was in high school and back then I liked the book but since some important scenes where missing from the abridged version, I could not fully enjoy all that this book offers. However, now having listened to this book in its entirety, I can say that it is so much better than I remembered from high school.

I love revenge plots in the first place and the precision that The Count executes with each of his revenges is one of the reasons why this book is a classic. The sarcastic humor is another and there are certainly plenty more.

The narrator of the book was wonderful! I loved how Homewood was able to pronounce the European names of places and people correctly, especially the French ones. Each character had a distinct voice and it brought this old tale to life. I really enjoyed all 52 hours and 45 minutes of The Count of Monte Cristo.

I picked this book up just because it sounded interesting. I am so happy that I done! I have never read/listened to one of Pat Conroy's books before and I do believe this was a good introduction for me. The different angles that this book presents are wonderfully done and surprisingly, very easy to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks into Tom and his family's past, learning about how his life impacted his personality, decisions, and life in general. I also enjoyed who Pat introduced characters and while they may or may not have played a vital part of the story, they did not sudden disappear without some sort of explanation as to their outcome.

Frank Muller did an amazing job with the voices and did just as Conroy said he would do: bring this book to life. Each character had a distinctive voice so there was no getting confused as to who was speaking. The females sounded like proper southern woman or even a stern New Yorker. A very excellent job Muller did and I am sadden by the lost of this wonderful talent.

Overall this is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to. I highly recommend it.

I was not for sure what to expect when I picked up The Identity Man. This is my first Andrew Klavan novel. However, in the end, I'm glad that I finished it. It was a very well done thriller. One thing I liked about the layout of the book is the fact that even though it was told in third person, the narrator knew what was going on in everyone's head and allowed the listener to gain access. The narrator was not some random ghost that was just reciting some facts, but actually telling a story filled with the emotions and thoughts of the characters. The pace of the book was a nice touch as well, filled with plenty of action to keep the listener entertained, but still did not leave out the story aspect. It also did not drag in the slow parts, like when Shannon was adjusting into his new life. The book kept the appropriate speed for the different types of scenes. It also ended nicely, cleaning up every loose end.

As for the narrator, I was a little worried that the author was going to be doing the reading. I figured that it would not be that good as some of the more professional narrators. I was completely surprised when I actually started to listen to the book. Klavan is an excellent narrator. I loved how he was able to so many different types of voices and how easy it was to tell each character apart. His female voices weren't that bad either, though when he voiced the little boy Michael, it was a bit overdone at times. Besides that little nick-pick, I found Klavan wonderful to listen to.

Overall, this was a book great story with strong narration, probably one of the strongest I have heard in a while. I really enjoyed this book and I might have to get some more of Klavan's books in the future, especially if his specialty is thrillers.

When I picked out Pure as my next book to read, I figured that it would be the same old "End of the World" concept that usually gets overplayed quite a bit. Luckily, the postapocalyptic world that is created by Baggott is unlike anything I have read or listened to before. I loved how the scenery was described by Pressia, the ash swirling about her head. I also enjoyed the interactions between all the main characters and how each them got their own chapters. And despite the horrible world that they lived in, the reader could see that they were still kids at heart even if their childhood was robbed from them.

All of the narrators did a wonderful job when reading their own character's voice. However, some of the were not able to handle the opposite sex's voices very well and it was a bit distracting for the reader. For example, the voice of Bradwell (a boy) sounds completely different from when Pressia (a girl) is telling the story from when Partridge (a boy). When Pressia is telling the story, Bradwell sounds somewhat whimpy than from when Patridge tells the story, where he sounds gruff and rugged. It would have been better if the same person could do the voice throughout the book, no matter who is telling the story at the moment.

I like the book overall, all the weirdness and how nearly everyone was fused with something or someone. I wait impatiently for the next book in the series.

Sadly when I picked this book, I did not know that it was part of a series, so I listened to Endymion thinking that it was a stand alone book. However, I felt that it was a very good book in its own right. I love the beginning! It just drew me in and made what to know more about Raul and his history. As other characters were introduced into the story, I liked how each had a little background history that was exploded throughout the book. It had the right amount of action in the book. There was never really a slow part for me. The narration was excellent as well, men sounding like men and little girls sounding like little girls. Each character had their own distinct voice so it was easy to tell who was speaking/thinking at the moment.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and now that I know there is a series, I will definitely be listening to the rest of the books.

I have been a long time fan of Connelly, reading a numerous amount of his books. I had also read one other Mickey Haller book as well, which I enjoyed. I figured that I should read this one as well and I am happy that I did. I flew by this book, unable to stop listening to it. I really loved how real Haller was and how you could see how he struggled with his inner demons. The narration is wonderful and makes for a easy listen. If you like courtroom drama, then this is a good book for you.

Listening to the Windup Girl was definitely an adventure for me and I enjoyed it, for I have always liked science fiction, especially when the world created has some realistic aspects. The first half of the book does have many different subplots that eventually came together in the second half of the book. I feel that they come together nicely and every tale is completed, but still leaves the opportunity for the reader to imagine what happens after. Keeping up the characters in the first half of the book is somewhat difficult and one can easily become lost in the who's who if careful attention is not paid. I do not feel the first half of the book is boring if one likes details and a good narration, which Jonathan Davis does a fantastic job. His voice can easily switch between male and female, from American to Thai to Chinese, young to old. I really loved his reading of the Windup Girl and probably liked the book more because of his reading.

One aspect of the book that I felt was a little overboard was the detail telling of the Windup Girl's situation in the whore house. I understand that it was important to the story, but some of the details could have been left out without losing anything from the plot line.

Overall, the Windup is a good tale of something could easily happen in the future. It is a story for those who really like science fiction and can deal with some objective scene here and there. I would recommend with a that word of caution.